Aloy is quickly rising in the ranks to become one of PlayStation's top mascots, with Horizon Forbidden West serving as an early showcase for the PS5 and Horizon Call of the Mountain debuting alongside the PSVR 2 headset. Guerrilla Games is officially going all-in on marketing for Forbidden West's upcoming Burning Shores DLC, which launches on April 19 exclusively for PS5. That marketing push includes a "Meet the Machines" series on Twitter, which introduced fans to the Waterwing on March 30.
The Waterwing is a unique flying machine in Horizon Forbidden West, one with the ability to carry Aloy through the skies and underwater. It should act as a great showcase for the Horizon universe's take on Los Angeles as a volcanic archipelago, allowing her to swiftly transition between environments and travel through the ocean at unprecedented speeds. Guerrilla's Meet the Machines tweet did not confirm whether Aloy will be more of a capable combatant using this mount, but that would be the next step to improving Forbidden West or Horizon's yet-announced third entry.
Horizon Forbidden West Expands Aloy's Reach to the Skies and Seas
The original Horizon Zero Dawn offered relatively simple traversal mechanics, with Aloy able to climb cliffsides via predetermined ledges and mount overridden machines like the Broadhead to cross the land faster. Forbidden West was then sold largely on the promise of more options, giving Aloy the ability to swim using a Diving Mask and soar through the skies atop Sunwings (and glide down gently using the Shieldwing Glider). Mounted flight is unlocked late in the story, but swimming can become available much earlier if players decide to tackle POSEIDON's story quest first.
However, swimming is a limited mechanic - and somewhat clunky at that. Aloy goes underwater to cross caverns into new areas or solve puzzles more often than not. There is no option to swing her spear or engage in combat of any kind, despite the fact that machines like the Burrower or Snapmaw patrol many aquatic areas. This translates to some effectively tense stealth segments, such as in Cauldron Kappa where Aloy is dropped into a basin alongside one angry Tideripper, but it can be frustrating to drag other Tiderippers out of the ocean when looking to farm machine parts.
Underwater Combat Needs to be Aloy's Next Big Advancement
As of this writing, it's unclear whether the Waterwing - or other potential mounts coming to Burning Shores - will add submerged combat mechanics. Guerrilla's Meet The Machines video shows a few clips of Aloy zipping around on the pelican-mouthed machine, but these shots are scenic. Grounded mounts such as the Clawstrider have combat options, but the flying Sunwing doesn't (if fans don't count dropping EMPs). The Waterwing could go either way, but Guerrilla would be killing two birds with one stone if underwater mounts help Aloy travel faster and attack.
Machines like the Tideripper can strike Aloy underwater even if she can't reciprocate, so it would make sense to give machines one or two submerged attacks that she would be incapable of alone. These don't have to be overpowered necessarily, it would make sense to let Aloy basically defend herself and have it be an optional challenge to actually destroy other underwater machines.
Even if the Waterwing doesn't get this capability, the concept it represents has more potential. Aloy could ride machines like Snapmaws underwater in Burning Shores or Forbidden West's sequel now that a precedent is set. The more dynamic ways that Guerrilla is able to approach its unique cast of robotic animals and dinosaurs, the better. Burning Shores may just be a proving ground for more to come in the Horizon franchise.
Horizon Forbidden West is available now on PS4 and PS5. The Burning Shores DLC releases April 19, exclusively for PS5.